Monday, July 21, 2008

Pocket Enigma Machine in a CD jewel case

Pocket Enigma Machine in a CD jewel case

Bletchley Park, the "home of the codebreakers" -- where Alan Turing and co cracked the Nazi Enigma machine -- sells "Pocket Enigma Machines" made from a clever cardboard disc inserted into a CD jewel case. It comes with a very good booklet explaining the basics of ciphering and deciphering with Enigma, and with a bunch of fun Enigma-related activities. Proceeds go to the nonprofit that runs the excellent Bletchley Park museum.

The instructions supplied explain how Pocket Enigma works and take the user step-by-step through the process of coding and decoding. Worked examples and carefully annotated figures illustrate how the Key and Message Setting are used, and there is a trouble-shooting table to help with common errors. For young readers there is also a simplified way of using it called Junior Pocket Enigma making it suitable for all ages who can read and write their own messages.
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